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Friday, 29 May 2015

Kester Black Haul Swatches & Review

A few weeks ago Kester Black announced they were going to start international shipping! I discovered Kester Black when I was living in Melbourne and instantly fell in love with the polishes. When I moved back to the UK I wasn't able to buy Kester Black anywhere! And the worst thing was that they kept releasing new collections!! Finally, after many many months, I can buy them again.

The service was fantastic! The polishes cost $20 each, but for international orders the tax is taken off so they're $18.18. The shipping costs $34.

The polishes arrived after just 5 days. Incredible. They were sent with DHL so I was updated every step of the way and I was given a time slot of when they'd arrive. Super super quick.

I bought a few of the new core shades and a few from the O&M collab collection.

First up is Know Knott.

This is a limited edition colour in collaboration with O&M.

This kind of reminds me of OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons, I haven't done a comparison, but I think this is a little more orangey blush toned.

I used 2 coats for the swatch. It had a very easy application without any issues.

The polish dries to a semi glossy finish.

More info and swatches after the jump!

Next up is Bondi Sand.

I bought this shade because at the time I ordered these polishes exactly a year ago I was at Bondi Beach in Sydney.

I've been back from Australia exactly a year now and it's nice to have little reminders every now and then.

This is another collab with O&M.

Bondi Sand is a very pale yellow. Online it looked like it was going to be a bit more of a warmer neutral, but it's definitely yellow more than anything else, and definitely the lightest shade of yellow ever!

I used 2 careful coats for the swatch. It's quite a streaky polish so I'd say it's about 2-3 coats for full opacity.

It dries glossy.

Next is is a super bright in your face sunshine yellow, or as Kester Black describes is.. an egg yolk yellow.

This is Bondi Rays. Another collab shade with O&M.

Let me just say, I LOVED Sydney, and Bondi Beach was beautiful.

It was almost perfect in just 1 coat. That doesn't happen for a yellow polish.. Ever!! It had very very slight streaks so I would recommend a second coat. But it was so close to being a 1 coater it's incredible.

It dries glossy.

The last O&M collab shade I bought is Hydrate & Conquer.

This is a very dark rusty looking red, or as Kester Black describes, a deep plum.

It's a very very dark red, and in dull lights it can almost look black.

It's fully opaque in just 1 coat. I used 2 coats for the swatch as it slightly deepens the colour, but you can easily get away with just the 1 coat.

It dries very glossy.

Next up is Petra.

I'm not sure which collection this came out with, but it's part of the core line.

Kester Black describes it as a sandy pale pink polish. I think it's a bit of a salmon-y shade, but much more pink than orange.

It's a very sweet neutral pink and it's super wearable any season.

This has an incredible formula. I used 2 thin coats for the swatch, but you can easily get away with just 1 slightly thicker coat.

It dries glossy.

I believe this came out at the same time as Petra.

This is Quartz and it's a grey, brown, purple.

It's a very confusing colour. Sometimes I feel a bit disappointed because it just looks boring and brown, when I first opened the parcel I thought it was purple.

It's a very unusual shade.

It's fully opaque in just 1 coat. I used 2 for the swatch as it deepens the colour, but it's definitely not necessary.

It dries glossy.

Saving the best for last...

This is Blue Raspberry.

This shade has been out for AGES, even when I was living in Australia but I never saw it in store and for some reason I just never actually bought it. Then when I moved away and couldn't buy it, obviously I needed it...

It's a super super super bright royal electric blue.

It's a bit more of a crelly formula so I used 2 coats for the swatch for it to be fully opaque.

It dries super glossy.

That's it for my haul! I am still in love with Kester Black. Their polishes are such beautiful colours, highly pigmented, easy to use, cruelty free, vegan, 5 free. It's seriously amazing.